It was thanks in part to rock and roll hits from bands such as The Doors and Guns N’ Roses that Manuel Noriega, the former military dictator of Panama, fell from grace. In December 1989, with Noriega holed up at the Vatican embassy in Panama, the U.S. military installed a line of stereo speakers around the building blaring songs such as “Dead Man’s Party” and “All I Want Is You,” a sort of psychological warfare meant to force the notorious strongman to give himself up. On January 3, 1990, Noriega surrendered, and the man commonly ridiculed as "old pineapple face" has been sitting in court rooms and jail cells ever since.

As the leaders of almost every nation in the Americas arrive in Panama, this opening act has set the stage for the rest of the summit—appropriately centered on the “challenge of cooperation in the Americas.” One can only hope the long-awaited U.S.-Cuba thaw will set the example for Cuba’s own internal reconciliation.

Clashes between Cuban and Venezuelan dissidents and pro-government supporters marked the initial proceedings of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City on Wednesday, two days before the summit officially begins.